All Saints' Episcopal Church

"Dear Lord, inspire our witness to you, that we may know the power of your forgiveness and the hope of your resurrection; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen."

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In Isaiah 9:6 we hear the beautiful Christmas words, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

In the Holy Communion we hear, "Sanctify us also that we may faithfully receive this Holy Sacrament, and serve you in unity, constancy, and peace..."

In the Bible, Jesus said to Peter, after he hurt someone in the Garden of Gethsemane,
"Put your sword away, for all who take up the sword will perish by the sword."

But, in Matthew 10:34 we hear these very different words - Jesus said, "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword."

That is the translation many of you have in your contemporary Bibles, most of which appeared since 1973. Here is the same verse in the Authorized King James Version of 1611, which is closer to the original Hebrew and Greek languages.

Jesus said, "Do not think that I am come to send peace to the earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword."

Because so many people use this verse to practice militant Christianity, please allow me to share a couple of points on this:

One, peace can't be sent. Peace is a matter of the heart.
Two, the sword means God's Word.

In Ephesians 6:17, Paul tells us what "sword" means,
"Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

So, the verse Matthew 10:34 can now be accurately interpreted to say,

Jesus said, "Do not think that I am come to send peace to the earth; I came not to send peace, but the Word of God."

Now, the whole 10th chapter of Matthew can be understood in its context - Jesus sends God's Word by way of the disciples.

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There is another misunderstanding in this chapter of the Bible. It is understanding what Jesus meant by family members being divided. Please recall with me these verses:

35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

For over 2000 years God's word has been carried to almost every part of the earth. It has made these differences:

It distinguishes right from wrong, truth from falsehood, spiritual light from spiritual darkness, and the righteous from the unrighteous.

In some families, one spouse will be closer to Christ than the other, one child closer to Christ than the parents, one friend closer to Christ than another, one employer closer to Christ than another.

To overcome the differences that different levels of spiritual growth cause, one must not be mean. One must apply God's solution in Galatians 5:22-23a  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance...

One spring afternoon, a man went home to find two little girls on the steps of his building. Both were crying hard, shedding big tears. Thinking they might be hurt, he dropped his briefcase and quickly went over to them. "Are you all right?" he asked. Still sobbing, one held up her doll. "My baby's arm came off," she said. He took the doll and its disjointed arm. After a little effort and luck, the doll was again whole. "Thank you." came a whisper. Next looking into the tearful eyes of her friend, he asked, "and what's the matter with you, young lady?" She wiped her cheeks and said "Nothing, I was just helping her cry."

Caring is so important when we have differences in our families and friendships!

One of the best quotes I have ever heard is this, "A woman's heart should be so lost in God that a man should seek Him in order to find her."

It should be so among all people, especially in families. Peace is found when we seek those we love through God.

PRAYER: "Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength is known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and glory, now and forever. Amen."